Urban Fantasy

Review of Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

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Dead in the Family
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 10
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 368

Date Started: January 22, 2016
Date Finished: January 23, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)dead-in-the-family
After enduring torture and the loss of loved ones during the brief but deadly Fae War, Sookie Stackhouse is hurt and she’s mad. Just about the only bright spot in her life is the love she thinks she feels for vampire Eric Northman. But he’s under scrutiny by the new vampire king. And as the political implications of the shifters’ coming-out are beginning to be felt, Sookie’s connection to one particular Were draws her into the dangerous debate. Also, though the doors to Faery have been closed, there are still some fae on the human side-and one of them is angry at Sookie…very, very angry…

Review:
In this novel Sookie seems to be drawn into far too many directions. It’s hard to truly get a grasp on anything going on, because there are too many side stories to keep track of.

Eric’s maker had an appearance, and all in all I did find that story interesting, except it seemed far too quick. Usually characters are introduced and have a long lasting effect.

I didn’t think any of the mysteries in this were something that people couldn’t easily deduce from reading previous novels, though the one with the Weres really didn’t matter that much in the overall scheme.

Hopefully the series gets back on track instead of going X-Men and becoming only about the varying human/supernatural relations. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for equality, but that’s a very different direction than what the series has been about overall thus far.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

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Dead and Gone
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 9
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 320

Date Started: January 21, 2016
Date Finished: January 22, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)dead-and-gone-ch
When the weres and shifters finally come out, the residents of Bon Temps, Louisiana, must deal with the violent aftermath. But a far greater danger threatens. A race of unhuman beings-older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves-is preparing for war. And Sookie will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle…

Review:
Ah, back to the usual swing of a Sookie Stackhouse novel! While not quite back up to par, this novel was far better than the last one, and I hope that the next will bring it back up to the level the previous books were at.

This novel had a mystery within a mystery which was quite stellar. There were some vampire tricks, and a few Were situations. All in all, this was a great story.

This story does a lot behind the scenes, and a lot of time is spent being introduced to concepts just to have them dashed away in very close succession to the reveal. There was a lot of things that didn’t necessarily need to be added, though I believe they will likely be pivotal in the next novel.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

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All Together Dead
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 7
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 342

Date Started: January 20, 2016
Date Finished: January 21, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)all_together_dead
Betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life—the oh-so-handsome shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with a long-planned vampire summit. With her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans, the local vampire queen is vulnerable to those hungry for a takeover. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

Review:
Sookie became useful… so much more useful than she likely wishes she had become.

While she learns some things about Quinn, what she learns more is that she has quite the loyalty to one particular vampire, and a large loss of respect or desire to help another. The mysteries in this novel mostly have to do with vampire politics, but it also revealed important revelations about Sookie’s romantic interests and just how much they cared for her.

The mysteries were well done, and while I managed to figure one out, I hadn’t figured out the second one in entirety. Unfortunately, part of my ability to reckon what was going on may have been highly influenced by the acknowledgements, which would have been much better off in the back of the book and not the front, considering the spoilers within.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

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Dead as a Doornail
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 5
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 320

Date Started: January 19, 2016
Date Finished: January 20, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)200px-dead_as_a_doornail
Small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has had more than her share of experience with the supernatural—but now it’s really hitting close to home. When Sookie sees her brother Jason’s eyes start to change, she knows he’s about to turn into a were-panther for the first time—a transformation he embraces more readily than most shapeshifters she knows. But her concern becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population, and Jason’s new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter. Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who’s behind the attacks—unless the killer decides to find her first…

Review:
There were a few discontinuities in this novel, things that didn’t match up with previous books, like mention of Sookie never having a dishwasher before, when in a previous novel Arlene had put dishes in the dishwasher when looking over her, but this didn’t disrupt the overall novel.

I only had a tiny idea of who to suspect at all, and it was a very very faint one. Like the rest of the novels, this one had not just one but two rather good mysteries. Thank goodness Sookie has a fairy looking out for her!

While Sookie remains unattached in this novel, it’s interesting to see the relationship dynamics between she and the vampires she is familiar with, especially with Bill starting to see someone else.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

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Club Dead
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 3
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 258

Date Started: January 18, 2016clubdead
Date Finished: January 19, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
Sookie’s boyfriend has been very distant-in another state, distant. Now she’s off to Mississippi to mingle with the underworld at Club Dead-a little haunt where the vampire elite go to chill out. But when she finally finds Bill—caught in an act of betrayal—she’s not sure whether to save him…or sharpen some stakes.

Review:
It was good to see Sookie forced out of her comfort zone and although I didn’t necessarily like what happened with Bill, it was good for her to realize even people that seem perfect can falter.  The new people introduced are interesting and have great depth.

The mystery in this one was very much purely supernatural, and I have no complaints about it.

One thing that does get annoying is Sookie’s constant mention of no one asking her to marry them. She and Bill were only dating a few months, and he’s a vampire. A bit of an unrealistic expectation, but since her only previous relationship experience is reading romance novels, I suppose it’s understandable.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

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Dead Until Dark
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 2
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 290

Date Started: January 16, 2016
Date Finished: January 18, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)livingdeadindallas
Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is having a streak of bad luck. First her co-worker is killed, and no one seems to care. Then she comes face-to-face with a beastly creature which gives her a painful and poisonous lashing. Enter the vampires, who graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn’t enjoy it). The point is: they saved her life. So when one of the bloodsuckers asks for a favour, she obliges – and soon Sookie’s in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire. She’s supposed to interview certain humans involved, but she makes one condition: the vampires must promise to behave, and let the humans go unharmed. But that’s easier said than done, and all it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly…

Review:
Finally, in this book we see that Sookie has to honour a commitment she made too lightly in the first book to a certain vampire, which shows that you should not agree to do something continually if you have no desire to do so.

The relationship dynamics in this book series continue to evolve and it was interesting to see Bill and Sookie’s relationship shift throughout.

The human mystery in this novel was far harder to have any grasp on before getting to very far into the rising action. The climax was completely unexpected, and very intriguing, making me anxious to see what other creatures Sookie might encounter in the future, as well as if her supernatural friends will be able to continue keeping her safe.

 

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.

Review of Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

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Dead Until Dark
Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood 1
By Charlaine Harris

Star Rating: 
Genre: Mystery, Fantasy

Number of Pages: 336

Date Started: January 15, 2016
Date Finished: January 16, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)dead-until-dark
Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She’s quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much – not because she’s not pretty, she’s a very cute bubbly blonde, or not interested in a social life – she really is …but Sookie’s got a bit of a disability. She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill: he’s tall, he’s dark and he’s handsome – and Sookie can’t ‘hear’ a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting all her life for. But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s fussy about his food, he doesn’t like suntans and he’s never around during the day …Yep, Bill’s a vampire. Worse than that, he hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble – of the murderous kind. And then one of Sookie’s colleagues at the bar is killed, and it’s beginning to look like Sookie might be the next victim …

Review:
In the beginning I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this novel. Sookie is the epitome of a dumb blonde. Between the constant references to what she was wearing to the amounts of times people had to tone down what they were saying because she couldn’t comprehend adult situations I hadn’t been sure I’d ever like her. Luckily, she began to develop as she met Bill.

All of the characters are well developed, and the mystery is slow burning. The mystery made perfect sense although it was hard to pinpoint which person it could possibly be given the large amount of people that seem to dislike the undead.

All in all, I picked up book 2 as soon as I was finished with this one.

charlaineAuthor Biography: (From Amazon)
For information on Charlaine Harris, please view her Amazon author page here.